For Regehr 2004 Stanley Cup run still hurts

Flames defenceman Robin Regehr in action against the Columbus Blue Jackets a few years back. Regehr still regrets the Stanley Cup loss to Tampa Bay ten seasons ago but he has a shot with the Los Angeles Kings this year.

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Ten years ago, the disappointment was tempered slightly by the future.

Don’t kid yourself, the pain of losing in the seventh game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Final was excruciating for Robyn Regehr and every other member of the Calgary Flames.

At his age, though, the expectation was another chance would come soon.

Seemingly in the blink of an eye, “soon” has turned into a decade for Regehr, who was then the lynchpin defenceman for the Flames and now part of the Los Angeles Kings, who are looking to claim the Cup and up 1-0 in their series against the New York Rangers.

“You think you’re going to have the opportunity again fairly quickly, especially when you have the competitive team like we did in Calgary,” said Regehr, who missed this year’s final series opener due to injury but expected to return as early as Saturday’s Game 2 . “Then, the lockout happens, you miss an entire season, stuff like that happens, and it takes 10 years and two teams removed.

“It’s been quite a journey.”

Regehr, who was traded by the Flames to the Buffalo Sabres in the summer of 2011 and moved to the Kings late in the 2012-13 campaign, remains No. 2 on the Flames all-time list for games played, with 826 contests over 11 seasons.

At age 34, and with nearly 1,100 NHL games under his belt counting playoffs, Regehr isn’t quite yet ready for the rocking chair.

However, having gone 10 years between trips to the final round, the big blueliner knows the value of making the most of the opportunity.

After all, the sting of 2004 isn’t exactly gone.

“Oh man. It was a deep wound, that’s for sure,” Regehr replied when asked how long it took to get over that Game 7 defeat in Tampa. “It took a long, long time, months right after, especially with some of the circumstances surrounding the final. There was the five-on-three given to them in one game (Tampa’s 1-0 win in Game 4) that Brad Richards ended up scoring. Everyone in Calgary has talked about the Marty Gelinas goal or no-goal. Even one of the penalty calls late in Game 7. I still remember those to this day.

“I don’t know if it ever is healed up. Maybe that will happen if a championship comes our way, but I don’t know if it ever heals up when you put that much time and effort into something and come that close. It’s something you think about your entire life and grow up dreaming about, and to fall one goal short is really tough.”

The good news for Regehr is he has a golden chance this summer.

The Kings, who won the Stanley Cup two years ago, are heavily favoured to knock off the Rangers. Moreover, Los Angeles has a squad loaded with players from that 2012 team, with Regehr and Marian Gaborik the only veterans without a Cup ring.

It’s amazing to think he’s gone from the rising star defenceman - don’t forget, Regehr was part of Canada’s World Cup team after that playoff run and then the 2006 Olympic team - to possibly being the Ray Bourque of the Kings, a veteran still in search of a title and a focal point for his teammates.

“I would be just fine with that,” Regehr said. “At this point in my career, it really doesn’t matter what kind of role you play on a team, as long as you win. That was a reason we made the decision to come out to Los Angeles. You know you’re only going to have a couple more years to play and you want a shot at it. You want the best possible shot, and we talked about it as a family and decided L.A. was the place for it.

“That’s all it really comes down to.”

Actually, his former teammates would love to see Regehr lift Lord Stanley’s Cup, too.

“That would be great if he could win one,” said Chris Clark, the former Flames winger who is now development coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets. “He was relatively young back in 2004 - I was relatively young then - and it took him this long to get back. That’s how hard it can be to get back.”

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For Regehr 2004 Stanley Cup run still hurts

Ten years ago, the disappointment was tempered slightly by the future.

Don’t kid yourself, the pain of losing in the seventh game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Final was excruciating for Robyn Regehr and every other member of the Calgary Flames.

At his age, though, the expectation was another chance would come soon.

Seemingly in the blink of an eye, “soon” has turned into a decade for Regehr, who was then the lynchpin defenceman for the Flames and now part of the Los Angeles Kings, who are looking to claim the Cup and up 1-0 in their series against the New York Rangers.

“You think you’re going to have the opportunity again fairly quickly, especially when you have the competitive team like we did in Calgary,” said Regehr, who missed this year’s final series opener due to injury but expected to return as early as Saturday’s Game 2 . “Then, the lockout happens, you miss an entire season, stuff like that happens, and it takes 10 years and two teams removed.